Last Chance Foods

Nearly two feet of snow outside makes diving into the pantry much more appealing than schlepping out to the grocery store. Many times, a strategically hoarded jar of anchovies can provide a meal-saving burst of flavor. However, Louis Rozzo, the fourth-generation owner of F. Rozzo and Sons, makes the case that it’s worth a visit to the local fishmonger for fresh anchovies, as well as fresh versions of other traditionally canned fish like sardines and mackerel.

Canned tomatoes: they’re easy to use, accessible year-round and approved by Italian grandmothers everywhere. And during these cold winter months, few things are as comforting as a bubbling pot of Sunday gravy on the back burner.

Comfort food often feels necessary when temperatures outside become frigid. For All Things Considered Host Amy Eddings, there’s nothing like a bowl of oatmeal with a dollop of jam, a go-to produced by her father whenever she felt out of sorts as a child. Chef Vikas Khanna, whose restaurant Junoon recently opened in the Flatiron District, considers lentils to be his ultimate comfort food for when he’s feeling homesick or under the weather.

In 2010, Last Chance Foods talked to farmers, chefs, and food writers to learn more about seasonal produce—how it’s produced, where it comes from, and how to make the most of it. To kick off the new year, however, we’ve decided to have some fun with our food. So in the words of Monty Python: "and now for something completely different!" "Forever" foods.

In some parts of the city, buried under all the snow, there hides a smelly treasure: ginkgo nuts. While the snow currently keeps many  from collecting the fruit from city sidewalks and parks, the trees will continue producing through the winter. Ginkgo nuts, primarily used in Asian dishes, can be found in Chinatown through February and forager “Wildman” Steve Brill says that he’s sometimes even found the nuts in Central Park in early March.

The oyster holds a vaunted place in New York’s history, which goes back to the 17th century, when some speculate the New York Harbor may have been home to half of all the oysters in the world. Throughout the 1800s, oysters were even considered fast food due to their widespread availability in New York City street stands.

There are few guarantees in life, but here's one of them: Pick up a muffin or baguette at a New York City farmers market and at least 15 percent of it will be made with locally produced flour. That particular rule, which applies to all baked goods sold at greenmarkets, was instituted earlier this year by GrowNYC, the organization that oversees New York City’s weekly farmers markets.

Thanksgiving, that favorite time of year for foodies everywhere, is finally here again. As many of us gear up to roast, braise and bake this week, it’s worthwhile to have a plan in place for dispatching with those mountains of leftovers. But let’s be honest, while sandwiches might be the easiest answer, they are not the most creative or appetizing. Instead, let your mind wander over to the territory of the savory pie.

Some locavores seeking to establish their food cred might recount harrowing tales of foraging for wild ramps or oyster mushrooms. But the group that truly deserves the splashy neon label of “x-treme”?  Hunters—those nature enthusiasts who go out there to track and kill their own source of protein. That’s about as hardcore as it gets when it comes to food.

Quince. No, not quints, as in babies, but quince, as in fruit. Yes, it’s fruit—a pretty ancient one at that. There’s some speculation that what the serpent handed Eve was a quince, and not an apple at all. One indisputable fact is that quince used to be grown throughout the New York area. These days, however, much of New York’s current population can be divided into two categories when it comes to quince: Those who have never cooked with the fruit, or even heard of it, and loyal quince enthusiasts who wax rhapsodic about it. Whichever category you fall into, now's the time to get familiar with it. Quince can be difficult to find, and its season in this area is nearly over.